Thoughts on life, God and faith from a local church minister and teacher

Monday, July 21, 2014

When Adults Wage War, Children Pay the Highest Price of All

“...the
disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of
heaven?’ He called a child,“Whoever welcomes one such child…welcomes me. If
any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones… it would be
better for you if a great millstone was fastened around your neck and you were
drowned in the depth of the sea."--Matthew
18

I’m not a big fan of the whole “angry God” school of theology.This “God” has been used much too often
throughout human history by religious fanatics and zealots to justify less than
Godly behavior.

But after this past week, as I witnessed how children are
treated in our world, I just might have to revisit this notion of a God who
holds humanity fully responsible for its actions, especially when it comes to
the innocent. Because right now God must be very angry and very sad about all the careless and cruel ways
that kids pay the price for the sins of adults.

Adults who battle in wars. Adults who fight in
politics.Adults who flail away at “enemies”,
with no thought as to the consequences of conflict upon the powerless.When nations and peoples and politicians go
to war, it is always children who suffer the most.

In Ukraine.
Last Thursday a plane full of 298 passengers was shot out of the sky by a
missile, killing everyone on board. At least 80 children were on that flight, boys
and girls who had no stake in, no knowledge of, the bloody and violent war
being fought 32,000 feet below. The world mourns every last victim who died at
the hands of the barbarians who fired that rocket. Yet there is something doubly
tragic about all those young lives ended so suddenly, swiftly, terribly. Photos
from the crash site show gut wrenching images of children’s books and stuffed
animals strewn across a farmer’s field.

What kind of people would do such a thing?

In Israel/Palestine. Last week Israel launched a full scale
invasion of the Gaza Strip, after bombing it from the air for days. Israel says it
is defending itself against terrorists.Hamas, the terrorist group firing rockets into Israel, says it
is retaliating for crimes against the Palestinians. Thus far 500 Gazans have
died, including more than 100 children. Scores of children on both sides have been
injured and traumatized, cowering in basements and shelters, as the bombs fall.
Fleeing from their homes to escape the carnage.“Adults” in this conflict claim moral justification in waging war. Yet
it is always the innocent who get hurt the most: kids who know nothing of
geopolitics or national security or the “right” to self defense.

What kinds of governments do such things?

And yes, in the United States too.Consider the 57,000 undocumented immigrant
children and teenagers who have been detained at our borders since last
October.They flee poverty, drug wars
and violence.Sent north by their
parents, they are exploited by adults who profit by transporting these poor souls
across the desert.

Our response as a nation? Send them all back home as fast as
possible. Use the kids and their plight to score political points. Ratchet up
our perpetual partisan war of words. Even the effort to treat these kids with
just a little mercy, by temporarily
housing them to allow deportations to proceed: that’s a disaster too. States
are falling all over themselves to just say no: Connecticut,
Ohio, Delaware,
Iowa, Wisconsin,
Nevada and Colorado. Thank God our own Governor Deval
Patrick has the courage and compassion to say “Yes”.

These are children, remember?Boys and girls as young as four.
Orphaned.Lost.Most had no choice in their doomed march. Are
we as a country now so xenophobic, so politically split and hard hearted, that
we would turn our backs on “the least of these, our brothers and sisters”? They
are here. They need someone to step up and to care.

What’s so difficult to understand about that?

Jesus was right.Adults everywhere have a moral obligation to care for kids, all kids,
every last one. When we stumble in that duty as a world and fail to protect the
children from violence, we have sinned mightily.

God help the children, because the “adults” of this world?
We are not.